Demi-cubic structures

ABSTRACT

A method of constructing a container, having a demi-cubic frame and first and second panel sections adapted to cooperate with the frame, including flexing the demi-cubic frame in its basic directions of resilient flexure, assembling the first and second panel sections into cooperation with the frame and allowing the frame to return to its unflexed condition to retain the first and second panel sections in cooperation with the frame; and a container having a demi-cubic frame with two basic directions of resilient flexure; first and second panel sections retained in cooperation with the frame, the panel sections being retained in said cooperation only when the frame is in its unflexed condition.

United States Patent [191 Jonas [11] 3,829,186 Aug. 13, 1974 DEMI-CUBIC STRUCTURES Inventor: Gerald L. Jonas, 306 W. 81 St.,

New York, NY. 10024 Primary Examiner-Donald A. Griffin Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Ladas, Parry Von Gehr, Goldsmith & Deschamps [5 7] ABSTRACT A method of constructing a container, having a demicubic frame and first and second panel sections adapted to cooperate with the frame, including flexing the demi-cubic frame inits basic directions of resilient flexure, assembling the first and second panel sections into cooperation with the frame and allowing the frame to return to its unflexed condition to retain the first and second panel sections in cooperation with the frame; and a container having a demi-cubic frame with two basic directions of resilient flexure; first and second panel sections retained in cooperation with the frame, the panel sections being retained in said cooperation onlywhen the frame is in its unflexed condition.

7 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures FMENIEB ms 1 31m SHEET 3 OF 6 FIGA.

FIGB

1 DEMI-CUBIC STRUCTURES This invention relates to demi-cubic structures and particularly to containers based on a demi-cubic frame configuration.

Frames based on the geometric form defined herein as a demi-cubic figure are known and have been used for example as the leg frame structure of a table or a stool, however, the prior art utilization of the demicubic structure has not made use of the inherent basic advantages of flexibility, ease of construction, potential strength of structures to be derived from a demi-cubic structures in the construction of a wide range of containers and housings and it is the realization of the nature of these advantages and their practical utilization with which the central concept of the present invention is involved. The advantages include, flexibility of use, flexibility of the structure, ease of construction and potential strength of constructions based on the structure, economy of materials and manpower, aesthetic potential.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a container utilizing a demi-cubic frame construction and a method of producing such a container.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a container utilizing the basic modes of flexure of a demi-cubic frame for the construction of the container and maintenance of the containers unity.

According to the invention, there is provided a method of constructing a container, having a demicubic frame and first and second panel sections adapted to co-operate with the frame, comprising the steps of flexing the demi-cubic frame in one of its basic directions of resilient flexure, assembling the first panel section into cooperation with the frame and allowing the frame to return to its unflexed condition to retain the first panel section in co-operation with the frame; and flexing the demi-cubic frame in the other of its basic directions of resilient flexure, assembling the second panel section into cooperation with the frame and allowing the frame to return to its unflexed condition to retain the second panel section in cooperation with the frame.

Also according to the present invention, there is provided a container comprising a demi-cubic frame having two basic directions of resilient flexure; a first panel section retained in cooperation with the frame; and a second panel section retained in cooperation with the frame; wherein the panel sections are retained in said cooperation only when the frame is in its unflexed condition; and the frame is adapted for resilient flexure in its two basic directions of resilient flexure for assembly of the panel sections into said cooperation therewith.

A demi-cubic frame is a unitary frame construction based on the geometric form of a demi-cubic figure.

A demi-cubic figure is a closed geometric figure comprising eight straight serially connected legs of equal length defining a cubic shape in which each of the eight apices of the cubic shape is defined by a different connection point of the interconnected legs, the legs of each connection point being at right-angles to one another.

As used herein, a demi-cubic figure shall be construed as including variants of the above defined figure in which the angles of the legs of some or all of the connection points are varied and/or the relative lengths of some or all of the legs are varied to produce any hexahedral shape.

As used herein a frame based on a demi-cubic figure shall be construed as including frames whether const r u c ted as one piece or of a plurality of parts or which while exhibiting the characteristics of a demi-cubic frame have one or more legs which are shaped to deviate'from the line followed by the corresponding leg or legs of the demi-cubic figure on which the frame is based.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. I shows the basic form of a demi-cubic figure seen in perspective;

FIG. 2 shows a different perspective view of a demicubic figure with indications as to the basic directions of flexure of a frame constructed on such a figure;

FIG. 3 is a perspective exploded view of a container according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 7 are respectively a side elevation, end elevation, plan and perspective view of the container of FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view along section line 8-8 of FIGS. 4 and 5;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a telephone box according to another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the telephone box as shown in FIG. 9;

FIGS. 11, 12 and 13 are fragmentary sections along section line ll1-I1 of FIG. 9 showing three examples of possible frame sections and corner constructions of the telephone box of FIG. 9; and

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of an example of a construction according to the invention in the form of a filing cabinet.

In FIG. 2, the demi-cubic figure is indicated by reference numeral 1 and this figure comprises eight legs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 interconnected to form a closed loop of legs as hereinbefore defined. A frame constructed in the form of this figure will have two basic directions of flexure respectively represented by arrows 10 and Ill and by arrows l2 and 13'. The degree of this flexure will depend on the properties of the material from which the frame is constructed. Suitable materials will be resilient over the range of flexure required and will be found among a wide range of metals (including their alloys) and plastics materials. An example of a suitable plastics material is the structural foam resins based on General Electrics resins Lexan FL-9OO and Noryl FN-2l5. This exemplary material is particularly useful as a frame molded therefrom exhibits a desired degree of resilience and flexure and may be molded in one piece in a low pressure molding process.

FIGS. 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 show a container utilizing the flexure properties of a demi-cubic frame. The frame 21 is a molding of the plastics material given above by way of example and has a cross-section as shown in FIG. 8.

The cross section is square with grooves 30 and M formed in adjacent sides of the square. These grooves extend round the entire length of the closed loop of the frame to form two continuous grooves as can best be seen in FIG. 3. The frame comprises eight legs 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29 and is of cubic form. The container is completed by two panel sections 32 and 33 of identical form. Each panel section 32 and 33 is of a thickness to fit within the grooves 30 and 31 and comprises three serially linked panels connected to one another at right angles to form a U-shaped structure defining three sides of a cube. The panel sections 32 and 33 may be constructed of any suitable material and are dimensioned such that the edges of the panel sections will fit within the entire length of grooves and 31 when the demi-cubic frame 21 is in a substantially unflexed condition.

The container is assembled in two stages. In the first stage, legs 23 and 27 are resiliently flexed apart sufficiently for panel section 33 to be placed in the groove 31. When the panel section 33 is in position, the frame is released and returns by virtue of its resilience to its unflexed condition with the panel section 33 captively housed in the groove 31. In the second stage of construction, the legs 25 and 29 are flexed apart, flexing with them the panel section 33 housed in the groove 31, a sufficient amount to permit the panel section 32 to be placed in position such that on release of the frame, the frame will return by virtue of, its resilience to its unflexed condition with the panel 32 housed in groove 30.

The assembled container is shown in FIGS. 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 and forms a completely closed self-supporting container suitable for use without any further attachment of the panel sections to the demi-cubic frame.

In variants of this arrangement, fastening means may be provided to prevent undesired flexure of the frame with consequent release of panel sections 32 or 33 and the panel sections themselves may be constructed each from one, tWO, three 01' more parts, one Or more Of which may be arranged to hinge. It will be appreciated that the cross-section of the frame may be any convenient cross-section and that the arrangements of the grooves and of the means for attaching the panels to the frame may be varied to provide varying degrees of ease or difficulty of gaining access to the interior of the container and for varying the appearance of the container. One example of a variation is to provide a lip round the edge of each panel section and a corresponding undercut in each groove in order that the panel sections will be snap into position in the groove to form a self-locking container with flexureof the frames in the above described directions of flexure being rendered difficult or impossible by the interaction of the lip and undercut.

In another example of a variation of the construction shown in FIGS. 3 through 8, the groove 31 may be modified to extend only along legs 22, 28, 29, 24, 25 and 26, thereby forming two U-shaped grooves, the ends of which are open in an upwardly facing direction to permit the panel section 33 to slide into and out of engagement with the demi-cubic frame 21 along the portions of groove 31 in legs 22, 24, 26, 28 while the panel assembly 32 is retained in captive relationship with the frame by the groove 30. This provides a container which can be repetatively opened and closed by a sliding action. In a refinement of this structure, a recess may be formed at the inner upper edges of the legs 23 and 27 to cooperate with the ends of the modified groove 31 in order that the container when closed will have the appearance of the container shown in FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 7. Many other variations of the construction described will, as a result of the teaching of this specification, be readily apparent to a man skilled in the art.

In a further variation of the construction shown in FIGS. 3 through 8 the panel section 33 is modified by the elimination of the panel portion bridging the two legs of the U-shape to form a section in two parts, the parts being opposite side panels of an open topped container when assembled together with panel section 32 to the demi-cubic frame 21. In this arrangement the portions of the groove 31 in the legs 23 and 27 can be omitted.

The telephone box shown in FIGS. 9 and It) utilizes substantially the same construction as does the container of FIGS. 3 through 8. This'construction includes an elongate demi-cubic frame 41, examples of possible cross-sections of which are shown in FIGS. 11, 12 and 13 as 41a, 41b and 410.

In the first example of a suitable cross-section 41a for the demi-cubic frame, grooves 42 and 43 are provided for receipt of panels in much the same manner as the construction provided in the container of FIG. 3. Section 41b is an example in which grooves 44 and 45 are provided in the edges of panels to be attached to the structure with the grooves 44 and 45 engaging correspondingly shaped ridges formed on the structure 41b. FIG. '13 shows a further example of a cross-section of the frame in which the demi-cubic frame is provided with rebates 46 and 47 arranged to mate with corresponding tongues 48, 49 on panels to be attached to the structure.

As with the container shown in FIG. 3, variations in manner of attachment of panels to the structure may be provided and these may, for example, include shaped grooves and tongues to provide-a self-locking feature. In addition, it will be appreciated that panels may be attached to the structure by a wide range of commonly used attachments, including, for example, screws, adhesives, welds, rivets.

In the structure of this telephone box, the connecting points of the legs are curved, however, the principle involved is the same as that of the container of FIG. 3. The telephone box includes a top 50, a bottom 51, central side panels 52 and 53, a back panel 54, a door 55, lower side trim panels 56 and 57 and an upper front trim panel 58. The top 50 and bottom 51 are curved to extend respectively partially down the sides of the telephone box and up the front and back of the telephone box. The bottom 51 has a cut away front upper edge 59 to facilitate entry into the telephone box. The sides of the top 50, the middle side panels 52 and 53 and the bottom side panels 56 and 57 cooperate to produce a U-shaped panel arrangement corresponding to the U- shaped panel section 33 shown in FIG. 3. This cooperating assembly is mounted in the frame 41 in a similar manner to stage 1 of the assembly of the container shown in FIG. 3 and the panels of this assembly are attached to the frame to form a unitary assembly with the frame. Similarly, the back panel 54, bottom 51, door 55 and top front panel 58 cooperate to form a U-shaped assembly which is assembled to the frame in a similar manner to stage 2 of the assembly of the container of FIG. 3 with the difference that the door 55 is hinged to the structure and cooperates with the top panel 58 and cut away 59 of the bottom 51 to provide an access door to the interior of the telephone booth. The middle side panels 52 and 53, the back panel 54 and the door 55 are constructed of transparent material. It will be appreciated that in variants of this system, any combination of transparent, translucent or opaque paneling may be used and the various panels may themselves be subassemblies or simply formed sheets of the material from which they are constructed.

It will be appreciated that the constructional concept of the present invention is applicable to a wide range of structures including, for example, packaging containers, building structures, furniture and items deriving their primary use as a result of their aesthetic value.

The filing cabinet shown in FIG. 14 has a construction similar to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 and 9 and includes a demi-cubic frame 71, top and side panel assembly 72 held in a groove (not shown) in the frame, a back and base panel assembly (not shown) and two drawers 73 and 74 mounted on drawer guides (not shown) supported by the frame.

I claim:

1. A method of constructing a container, having a demi-cubic frame and first and second panel sections adapted to cooperate with the frame, comprising the steps of:

flexing the demi-cubic frame in one of its basic directions of resilient flexure, assembling the first panel section into cooperation with the frame and allowing the frame to return to its unflexed condition to retain the first panel section in cooperation with the frame; and

flexing the demi-cubic frame in the other of its basic directions of resilient flexure, assembling the second panel section into cooperation with the frame and allowing the frame to return to its unflexed condition to retain the second. panel section in cooperation with the frame.

2. A container comprising:

a demi-cubic frame having two basic directions of resilient flexure;

a first panel section retained in cooperation with the frame; and

a second panel section retained in cooperation with the frame; wherein the panel sections are retained in said co-operation only when the frame is in its unflexed condition; and

the frame is adapted for resilient flexure in its two basic directions of resilient flexure for assembly of the panel sections into said cooperation therewith.

3. A container according to claim 2, wherein retaining means forming part of said frame provide the cooperation between the frame and the panel sections.

4. A container according to claim 2, wherein the retaining means is a groove in the frame for receiving each panel section to provide said cooperation.

5. A container according to claim 2, wherein retaining means are provided to captively attach the panel sections to the frame.

6. A container according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the panel sectionscomprises a plurality of cooperating panel members.

7. A container according to claim 2, wherein the frame isa molding of a foamed plastics material. 

1. A method of constructing a container, having a demi-cubic frame and first and second panel sections adapted to cooperate with the frame, comprising the steps of: flexing the demi-cubic frame in one of its basic directions of resilient flexure, assembling the first panel section into cooperation with the frame and allowing the frame to return to its unflexed cOndition to retain the first panel section in cooperation with the frame; and flexing the demi-cubic frame in the other of its basic directions of resilient flexure, assembling the second panel section into cooperation with the frame and allowing the frame to return to its unflexed condition to retain the second panel section in cooperation with the frame.
 2. A container comprising: a demi-cubic frame having two basic directions of resilient flexure; a first panel section retained in cooperation with the frame; and a second panel section retained in cooperation with the frame; wherein the panel sections are retained in said co-operation only when the frame is in its unflexed condition; and the frame is adapted for resilient flexure in its two basic directions of resilient flexure for assembly of the panel sections into said cooperation therewith.
 3. A container according to claim 2, wherein retaining means forming part of said frame provide the co-operation between the frame and the panel sections.
 4. A container according to claim 2, wherein the retaining means is a groove in the frame for receiving each panel section to provide said cooperation.
 5. A container according to claim 2, wherein retaining means are provided to captively attach the panel sections to the frame.
 6. A container according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the panel sections comprises a plurality of co-operating panel members.
 7. A container according to claim 2, wherein the frame is a molding of a foamed plastics material. 